I know we should be moving on to the Cincinnati game, but the overwhelming reporting of how the offensive game plan contributed to Sunday's loss in Denver has really got my goat. Thankfully, Joe Starkey appears to have a more level-headed perspective.

Ben Roethlisberger dropped back on 15 of the Steelers' first 24 plays at Denver.
Ridiculous game plan, right?

Not really, because it helped the Steelers reach the Super Bowl. Those plays happened two years ago in the AFC title game, when the Steelers knew the Broncos would load up against the run.

The daring plan almost blew up early, when Champ Bailey dropped a sure interception, but reaching for greatness always carries a risk.

The Steelers used a similar approach a week earlier in their underrated upset win at Indianapolis. Remember, people were drooling over that Colts team just as fervently as they are now over the Patriots.

That day, Roethlisberger dropped back on seven of the first 10 snaps, 12 of 20, as the Steelers took a 14-0 lead.

Had either plan backfired -- and either could have, easily -- folks would have fried Bill Cowher and his coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt, for surrendering their run-first identity.

Which brings us to the loss Sunday night at Denver, the one that has Mike Tomlin and his coordinator, Bruce Arians, spending some quality time in the frying pan.

Why in the world would the Steelers come out passing against the NFL's lowest-ranked run defense, a unit far less effective than the one Denver had two years ago?

Maybe because they knew it would work.

Maybe because they knew Denver would position eight or more defenders in the box.

And maybe everybody's overreacting. Take away their two-minute drill, and the Steelers attempted 16 passes and 11 runs in the first half, not so different from the 13 passes and 12 first-half runs against Seattle two weeks earlier.

Willie Parker had seven carries in the second quarter Sunday. Arians did not abandon the run in the second half, despite trailing.

I'm guessing there were no complaints about the first drive, when the Steelers marched 60 yards in eight plays (six passes) to take a 7-0 lead, only to see the defense give it right back.

Hines Ward's drop killed the next possession.

On possession No. 4, the Steelers opened with four running plays, one for 27 yards. It was a draw to Parker, set up by the threat of a pass (on their other 11 first-half runs, they netted 27 yards).

To open the fifth possession, Parker ran twice for minus-4 yards (why don't they throw the &!#@# ball!). Ward dropped another pass. Parker gained one yard, and Roethlisberger was picked off at the Denver 39.

Minutes later, a Roethlisberger fumble was scooped up for a Denver touchdown.

Yeah, well, running backs fumble, too.

That would mark the last time anything but the clock stopped the Steelers' offense.

If the normally reliable Ward doesn't drop two passes, and the normally reliable defense doesn't give up a first-possession touchdown, the Steelers stake themselves to a nice lead, just as they did in those playoff games, and shift to the attrition phase of their plan.

Tomlin was asked Tuesday if he had any regrets about the offensive game plan.

"No, really none," he said.

Nor should he.

Besides, wasn't it the defense that allowed all those long third-down plays, went offside twice on the game-losing drive and gave up three touchdowns to a unit that had only seven through five games?

How come nobody's talking about the defensive game plan?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_534194.html

Michael Keller

10-24-2007, 09:40 AM

Excellent article . I just hope that some of the Steeler fans who claim that The Steelers ABANDONED THE RUN GAME understand that it is not as simple as they would like it to be. We are going to be looking at 8 men in the box UNTIL we can beat it and we are not going to beat it with this offensive line. The tools are there , Ben will adjust , Roll Ben out more . He is arguably better on the move any way We have got two great tight ends with soft hands. Go deep more often Holmes Washington and even Lewis have the speed. Washinton has got to prove he has it or he doesn't. Going deep has worked several times this year. I do think we need to keep a back in to block more often. I notice all too often no back at all in the backfield.

In summary for those who think GO BACK TO THE RUNNING GAME IS GOING TO WORK join the mentality of the generals who advised Hitler to invade Russi in the winter. Come on football is not that complicated but it sure as hell is not that SIMPLE. If this coaching staff does not figure it out I will be dissapointed because I truly believe they are very close to doing so. There were many good plays in the Denver game to encourage. The Steelers needto get better that is clear not so that they can beat the likes of Denver or Arizona but to beat the Colts and the Patriots and perhaps we will see this evolve over the remaining games.

.

revefsreleets

10-24-2007, 09:47 AM

Nice article. I didn't think the gameplan was all that bad, but the execution of it sucked. That's because the Steelers played poorly, and I mean across the board. There were periods of the game where they played poorly in every phase of the game. And it hurts worse because Denver is not a quality opponent.

Steeldude

10-24-2007, 09:48 AM

that article would make sense if the broncos were stopping the steelers running attack. the steelers were averaging 4.6 YPC.

Steeldude

10-24-2007, 09:56 AM

Excellent article . I just hope that some of the Steeler fans who claim that The Steelers ABANDONED THE RUN GAME understand that it is not as simple as they would like it to be. We are going to be looking at 8 men in the box UNTIL we can beat it and we are not going to beat it with this offensive line. The tools are there , Ben will adjust , Roll Ben out more . He is arguably better on the move any way We have got two great tight ends with soft hands. Go deep more often Holmes Washington and even Lewis have the speed. Washinton has got to prove he has it or he doesn't. Going deep has worked several times this year. I do think we need to keep a back in to block more often. I notice all too often no back at all in the backfield.

In summary for those who think GO BACK TO THE RUNNING GAME IS GOING TO WORK join the mentality of the generals who advised Hitler to invade Russi in the winter. Come on football is not that complicated but it sure as hell is not that SIMPLE. If this coaching staff does not figure it out I will be dissapointed because I truly believe they are very close to doing so. There were many good plays in the Denver game to encourage. The Steelers needto get better that is clear not so that they can beat the likes of Denver or Arizona but to beat the Colts and the Patriots and perhaps we will see this evolve over the remaining games.

.

who is lewis?

the long ball has been poor for most of the year. that's mainly BR's fault. he throws short, hanging passes. even his complete long passes are marginal. this is a problem he had in college also and has yet to fix it.

BR hasn't really improved much since his rookie year. his mechanics are still average at best and his ability to make the quick read is still non-exsistent. he needs to find his 2nd and 3rd options. mentally BR just doesn't have it yet. most of his big plays come off of broken plays. you can't be a consistent QB on school yard plays.

Edman

10-24-2007, 11:08 AM

Lack of execution killed the Steelers. You don't turn the ball over 3 times and expect to win.

Lord Stiller

10-24-2007, 11:16 AM

the long ball has been poor for most of the year. that's mainly BR's fault. he throws short, hanging passes. even his complete long passes are marginal. this is a problem he had in college also and has yet to fix it.

BR hasn't really improved much since his rookie year. his mechanics are still average at best and his ability to make the quick read is still non-exsistent. he needs to find his 2nd and 3rd options. mentally BR just doesn't have it yet. most of his big plays come off of broken plays. you can't be a consistent QB on school yard plays.

Is this sarcasm?

If not, you need to pull your head out of your ass.

Ben has been playing well. He throws the deep ball well, has improved a lot since his rookie year.

He still has a lot of room to improve but right now is the 3rd or 4th best QB in the NFL

Jman

10-24-2007, 11:20 AM

Lack of execution killed the Steelers. You don't turn the ball over 3 times and expect to win.

Again, blaming the offense is not accurate. If you want to call out the O-line, that's fine, but please keep it in perspective.

The offense did a good job, and as the article quite clearly pointed out, the defense didn't show up.

Steeldude

10-24-2007, 12:11 PM

Is this sarcasm?

If not, you need to pull your head out of your ass.

Ben has been playing well. He throws the deep ball well, has improved a lot since his rookie year.

He still has a lot of room to improve but right now is the 3rd or 4th best QB in the NFL

wow! you obviously have never watched BR throw the long ball. it is one of the worst in the NFL. when the ball is hanging in the air and short on a consistent basis, it is not considered a well thrown bomb. ever notice how he throws of his back foot?

what has he improved a lot since his rookie year?

you can relax. i am not saying he is bad or even average. you can go back to worshiping your fathead poster :smile:

Dino 6 Rings

10-24-2007, 12:18 PM

Puke, that's what the entire game was. A big vile bucket of Puke. How do you allow Cutler to look like a pro bowl QB? How do you not sack him and keep him under pressure all day. How do you allow your own QB to be running like a child from a rabid dog, all game long. By Puking up a sorry performance, that's how.

Lack of execution all around. And to allow a team to drive down the field with 1 minute left to kick a winning field goal when you have one of the best defenses in the league is another bucket of Puke...sick...the entire game made me sick.

The only good thing, was that when Ben and the offense was going down the field on that last drive, I had full confidence in them getting the tying touchdown. I was sure they would score, which is a type of confidence I never had in our offense in the years before Ben.

Other than that...Puke.

Steeldude

10-24-2007, 12:23 PM

Again, blaming the offense is not accurate. If you want to call out the O-line, that's fine, but please keep it in perspective.

The offense did a good job, and as the article quite clearly pointed out, the defense didn't show up.

jman, the O-line didn't show up in pass protection...again. this is something that is going to hurt them all year. on some run plays there were 3 to 4 blue jerseys in the backfield.

the defense allowed 3 TDs. one was the result of a BR's INT throw.

offense gave the ball up 3 times. two of the TOs resulting in 14 points.

i think both sides of the ball deserve blame, IMO.

delhess

10-24-2007, 12:31 PM

nothing more self distructive to steeler fans than the "is ben one of the top 5 qbs" discussion.

this thread will self distruct in

5
4
3
2
1
.
.
.

delhess

10-24-2007, 12:34 PM

finally three days after that painful loss, cooler heads are prevailing. i'm glad to see that other people realize that the offense (game plan) was not our main problem.

poor execution was the biggest problem. poor defense was def a bigger part then poor offense.

Jman

10-24-2007, 12:58 PM

jman, the O-line didn't show up in pass protection...again. this is something that is going to hurt them all year. on some run plays there were 3 to 4 blue jerseys in the backfield.

the defense allowed 3 TDs. one was the result of a BR's INT throw.

offense gave the ball up 3 times. two of the TOs resulting in 14 points.

i think both sides of the ball deserve blame, IMO.

I did say feel free to call out the O-line....

Why are you talking about D? I said they were the problem.

So BR threw 2 pics...So did Peyton on MNF this week.

Just my opinion.

Dino 6 Rings

10-24-2007, 01:05 PM

The blame is on the PUKE Performance the ENTIRE TEAM Showed all game long until the very end, and then they Puked up their livers again on Defense allowing Denver...Effing DENVER to drive down the field and kick a winning field goal. The Loss is the Entire Teams Loss, and it sucks, cause really...Denver? They Suck.

So losing two games to teams we are clearly more talented than sucks...but then again...a shut out against Seattle, a beat down of Cleveland a Smack down on Buffalo and a beating handed to San Fran, are fine....just game plan and win this week and the Ship will be back afloat and we can talk about "how awesome" things are and "he's so good" at this or that position.

Losses suck, its all of our fault...Now I need to go watch game film so I can game plan in my mind how to beat Cincy and scream at the TV when we call a deep throw on 1st and 10 from our own 40 instead of handing it to willie off right tackle. Cause that's my game plan and dang it they should be listening to me...

Lord Stiller

10-24-2007, 01:25 PM

wow! you obviously have never watched BR throw the long ball. it is one of the worst in the NFL. when the ball is hanging in the air and short on a consistent basis, it is not considered a well thrown bomb. ever notice how he throws of his back foot?

what has he improved a lot since his rookie year?

you can relax. i am not saying he is bad or even average. you can go back to worshiping your fathead poster :smile:

What QB would you rather have back there? I doubt even Manning or Brady could do much better considering the piss poor protection Ben has.

Ben has clearly improved fromhis first 2 seasons. He is throwing the ball much more often than the 15 or so attempts he averaged in those seasons. And despite throwing more often and having horrible pass protection, his passer rating has INCREASED.....explain that genius

Keep hating and thinking Ben sucks, whatever

Maybe you should go hang out in the "Fair Weather FAns" thread

tony hipchest

10-24-2007, 01:30 PM

What QB would you rather have back there? I doubt even Manning or Brady could do much better considering the piss poor protection Ben has

Keep hating and thinking Ben sucks, whatever

Maybe you should go hang out in the "Fair Weather FAns" threadyou just totally misquoted the wrong post. im sure it was an accident.

Edman

10-24-2007, 01:35 PM

The Steelers played a sloppy game and commited 3 turnovers, and it still took Denver a last second field goal to beat them. This team may not be New England or Indy good right now(Noboby is), but we'll see what they do the next couple weeks against the AFC North and in December.

Lots of improvement and adjustments to be made.

MasterOfPuppets

10-24-2007, 01:41 PM

how bout that sepulveda....he's doing a fantastic job on holding for kicks !!! :tt02:
and props to the long snapper !!!! woohoo....

tony hipchest

10-24-2007, 01:46 PM

how bout that sepulveda....he's doing a fantastic job on holding for kicks !!! :tt02:
and props to the long snapper !!!! woohoo....they both screwed up jeff reeds 65 yd attempt at the end of the half :coffee:

MasterOfPuppets

10-24-2007, 01:54 PM

they both screwed up jeff reeds 65 yd attempt at the end of the half :coffee:
:jawdrop: my god this season has been nothing but a disaster !!! at least we'll get a good draft pick !!! :thumbsup:

lamberts-lost-tooth

10-24-2007, 01:56 PM

I'm thinking that the missing piece of the puzzle this year might be Duce Staleys grey sweatsuit garbed presence on the sideline :rolleyes:

MasterOfPuppets

10-24-2007, 02:02 PM

I'm thinking that the missing piece of the puzzle this year might be Duce Staleys grey sweatsuit garbed presence on the sideline :rolleyes:he defintly had a sideline presence about him....:shake02:

Galax Steeler

10-25-2007, 04:48 AM

I think we need to get on with the bungholes and quit worrying about the broncos.